Double door coordinator



Oct. 1, 1935.

H. EICHACKER DOUBLE DOOR COORDINATOR Filed Jan. 11, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l M NJN KW QN r. e Tn 5;: FA 17 m 1/ 1 %M .%M Q 3 $5M a aw. E .R k% w 3 5%. Ra .3. w .5. mm. m s r I I h U M m n 0 3 m N m H B Oct. 1, 1935. 2,015,996

H. A. EICHACKER DOUBLE DOOR COORDINATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 11, 1955 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 1, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE to Vonnegut Hardware Company,

Indianapolis,

Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application January 11, 1935, Serial No. 1,304

15 Claims.

The object of my invention is to produce a device for insuring proper coordination of a pair of mating swinging doors of such character as to be not only efiicient but inconspicuous and readily installed.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention.

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective of upper adjacent corners of a pair of doors, the adjacent upper door stop and lintel, and my improved device;

Fig. 2 is a plan of my device in association with a pair of doors;

Fig. 3 is a plan, in partial horizontal section, and with the upper cover plate removed, of my device, about three-quarter size and with the several parts in the positions occupied when the normally inactive door is closed;

Fig. 4 is a section on line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan showing the stop arm in extended position;

Fig. 6 is a plan, similar to Fig. 3, but on a smaller scale, showing the parts in intermediate relation;

Fig, 7 a plan with casing cover removed, of a modification, and

Fig. 8 a fragmentary detail on an enlarged scale of the structure shown in Fig. 7.

In the drawings l0 indicates a normally inactive door, It a normally active door with its external astragal l2 and latch bolt l3, l4 the lintel and I 5 the upper door stop, these several parts being of normal construction and each generally equipped with an automatic closing device (not shown).

My device comprises a main hollow body 29 with a readily removable cover plate 2|. Pivoted upon a stud 22 within casing 20 is a cam 23 which carries a stop arm 24, projectible from the casing by a swing of cam 23. Pivoted upon a stud 25, in casing ZUis a trip arm 26 to be engaged by the normally inactive door. This arm 26 is provided with a finger 21 and a blocking finger 28. Slidably mounted in casing 20, between wall 20' and partition 20 is a plunger 30, one end of which underlies stop finger 28 and has a one-way engagement with finger 21 and the other end of which is provided with a finger 3! which lies between and has a gear tooth coaction with the fingers 23' and 23" of cam 23. Any suitable means may be provided to limit the outward swing of stop arm 24. For that purpose I have illustrated a wall 35 at the front of casing 29 to be engaged by the back of cam 23 when arm 24 is projected, as shown in Fig. 5.

A compression spring 31 is interposed between shoulder 30 of plunger 39, and lug 26" of casing 28.

Preferably secured to the inner face of the nor- I mally active door at its upper free corner is a metal wear strip for engagement by the free end of stop arm 24, and at the upper free corner on the inner face of the normally inactive door is a wear strip 4| for engagement with the trip arm 26. These two wear strips are not essential but are desirable to avoid marring of the doors.

Outward swing of trip arm 26 is limited by a stud 42 of casing 20 and engageable by stop finger 23 and this stop finger is engageable by shoulder 30" of plunger 30.

My device is positioned, as shown in Fig. 1, either mortised into the upper door stop IE or applied to its under face with the mouth of casing 20 fiush with the door-stopping edge of the door stop. When the normally inactive door I 0 is closed it engages the trip arm 26 and holds it in the position shown in Fig. 3, so that its finger 21 holds plunger 30, in opposition to spring 31, in the extreme position (to the right Fig. 3) so that its finger 3|, acting upon finger 23 of cam 23, holds stop arm 24 parallel with the door plane and within casing 20, so that it is entirely out of View.

With the parts in these positions, the normally active door ll may be freely opened and closed without causing any operation of my mechanism.

If the normally inactive door be swung toward open position the trip arm 26, because of the action of spring 31 and plunger 30, will follow this door until the left-hand end of plunger 30 passes under the end of finger 21. At this time the parts will be in the positions shown in full lines in Fig. 6. Further opening of the normally inactive door permits spring 31 to drive plunger 30 to the left until stop arm 24 is fully protracted. At this time shoulder 39" of plunger 38 will have engaged finger 28 of trip arm 26 so as to drive it into engagement with lug 42, and the end of finger 3| of plunger 30 will underlie finger 23 of cam 23 so that stop arm 24 may not be retracted (Fig. 5). In this position stop arm 24 should lie substantially normal to the normally active door when that door has been swung toward closing position to a position, as indicated in Fig. 2, where the normally inactive door may swing freely without engaging the normally active door, the arrangement being such that, so long as the normally inactive door is open as much as the abovementioned critical position, the normally active .door may not be closed. In installing the device the length of arm 24 will be established to insure the above-described relationship.

In order to close the normally active door, if the normally inactive door is open as much as is indicated in Fig. 2, the normally inactive door movement of door II cams upon arm 24 to drive.

it close to the position shown in Fig. 3. As the active door I I approaches closed position plunger 30 will be retracted from beneath finger 21 so that the astragal I2, engaging door II! may swing said door to closed position, even if the door closing mechanism associated with door II] should fail to function.

, In order to insure proper clearance for the latch bolt I3 I provide, on the inner face of door I0, high enough to be inconspicuous, a finger 50, adapted to engage the inner face of door II to move it outwardly enough to permit arm 24 to swing to blocking position.

In general, my coordinator will be used in conjunction with doors equipped with automatic closing devices. The primary trafiic will be along the space closed by the normally active door but when heavier trafiic occurs the normally in- ,active door will be utilized. Trafiic, however,

may proceed in the line of the inactive door even though the active door be closed at the time of approach. Assuming both doors to be closed by individual closing mechanisms (not shown) :--A person approaching the normally inactive door may displace it in the opening direction. The initial movement will, by reason of contact with the astragal I2, swing the normally inactive door to the position shown in Fig. 2 and during this time'lever 26 will be released so that stop arm 24 may swing to blocking position as shown in Fig. 2. When the pedestrian has passed beyond the normally inactive door it will be automatically returned, swinging clear of the blocked normally active door and will come into contact with lever 26 so as to move plunger 3!! to the right and retract stop arm 24 to an angular position where door II may act upon it to continue its closing movement. 1

The extension of plunger 30 to the left of shoulder 3!?" (Fig. 3) is not absolutely essential so far as coordination of the door is concerned but if plunger 30 be not extended sufficiently to engage finger 2'! when lever 26 is in its retracted position, it is evident that, with the door I!) closed, stop arm 24 would swing outwardly upon each opening movement of door H, but this outward swing would be limited, by'en'gagement of shoulder 30 with finger 28 to a position where door II, upon closing, could act upon arm 24 to swing it inwardly to casing 29. The recurrent partial outward swing of arm 24, upon each opening of the door I I would be unsightly and it is for this reason that I extend plunger 30 to a position where it will engage finger 2'! of lever 26 and thus serve to hold stop arm 24 entirely concealed during all operations of door ll so long as door I0 is closed. There is preferably a small amount of play between finger 3| and finger 23 to compensate for slight inaccuracies of position of door In in its closed position relative to casing 20.

. It will be'no ted that, owing to the fact that the swinging elements 26 and 23-44 swing upon vertical axes and cooperate with vertical faces of their respective doors, extreme nicety of positioning of the coordinator vertically of the doors is not important and sagging or raising of the free edges of the doors will have no effect upon proper operation, as would be the case if any'portion of the coordinator were dependent upon coaction with the top edge of a door.

By inner face or the door I mean the stop engaging face, and by outer face I mean that face of the door which is in the direction of opening.

Arm 24 is preferably provided, at its free end with a removable knob 24' rounded at its tip, as shown.

It will be noted, from Fig. 5, that finger 23" rests upon the top of plunger-portion 3| so that inward swing of the stop arm is prevented until trip arm 26 has been retracted far enough to shift plunger 3!! far enough to the right (Fig. 5) to begin the retraction swing of the stop'arm. By this arrangement proper blocking of door II at a clearance position is insured even though that door at that position is capable of exerting 'a retraction force upon arm 24.

In the construction shown in Fig. 7 the trip arm 26' is provided with a gear segment 26" meshing with teeth 300' on plunger 30!]. This plunger 390 at its opposite end is provided with rack teeth 38! meshing with the gear segment 332 of stop arm 240. When stop arm 24!! has been fully projected, the final tooth of rock BIJI will pass under the adjacent tooth of the gear segment 382 so as to block retraction swing of the stop arm 240 until trip arm 26' has been moved slightly in retraction direction.

I claim as my invention: U

1. A door coordinator for independently movable companion doors comprising a pivotal stop arm to be engaged by a normally used door to block closing movement of said door at a point permitting clearance of a companion normally unused door, a separate movable trip arm to be engaged by said companion door closely adjacent closed position thereof, and means connecting said arms whereby positioning of the stop arm in door blocking position is dependent upon said trip arm.

2. A door coordinator comprising a casing, a

stop arm pivoted in said casing for protraction and retraction relative to said casing, a trip arm movably mounted in said casing and a spring-pressed plunger mounted in said casing, said plunger being coordinated with the stop arm to actuate, and be actuated by, said stop arm,

and said plunger being coordinated with the trip 7 arm to be actuated thereby in stop-arm retrace tion direction and to project the trip arm upon release of said trip arm.

3. A door coordinator comprising a casing, a stop arm pivoted in said casing for protraction and retraction relative to said casing, a trip arm movably mounted in said casing about an axis parallel with the axis of the stop arm and a spring-pressed plunger mounted in said casing,

said plunger being coordinated with the stop.

arm to actuate and be actuated by'said stop arm,

and said plunger being coordinated with the trip arm to be actuated thereby in stop-arm retraction direction and to project the trip arm upon release of said trip arm.

4. A door coordinator of the character defined by claim 2 wherein the plunger is coordinated with the stoparm by interlocking means preventing plunger actuation by a stop arm when the stop arm is fully protracted.

5. A door coordinator of the character defined by claim 3 wherein the plunger is coordinated with the stop arm by interlocking means preventing plunger actuation by a stop arm when the stop arm is fully protracted.

6. A door coordinator of the character specified in claim 2 wherein the plunger and trip arm are provided with two pairs of one-way engaging portions coordinated to permit movement of the plunger relative to the trip arm at an intermediate position of protraction of the trip arm, one of said pairs causing initial partial protraction of the trip arm by plunger action and final retraction of the stop arm by final retraction of the trip arm, and the other pair causing final protraction of the trip arm by plunger action and initial partial retraction of the stop arm by initial partial retraction of the trip arm.

'7. A door coordinator of the character specified in claim 3 wherein the plunger and trip arm are provided with two pairs of one-way engaging portions coordinated to permit movement of the plunger relative to the trip arm at an intermediate position of protraction of the trip arm, one of said pairs causing intial partial protraction of the trip arm by plunger action and final retraction of the stop arm by final retraction of the trip arm, and the other pair causing final protraction of the trip arm by plunger action and initial partial retraction of the stop arm by initial partial retraction of the trip arm.

8. The combination with a normally active door and a companion normally inactive door, of stop arm pivoted to swing about a vertical pivot to a protracted position blocking closing swing of the normally active door at a position permitting clearance swing of the inactive door, and to an intermediate protracted position when it may be actuated toward retracted position by closing movement of the active door, a movable trip arm separate from the stop arm and arranged to be actuated to retractedposition by final closing movement of the inactive door, and a connector between the stop arm and trip arm whereby, upon protraction of the trip arm the stop arm will be protracted to stopping position and complete retraction of the trip arm blocks protraction of the stop arm.

9. A combination of the character specified in claim 8 wherein the connector is a spring-pressed plunger having a gear-like connection with the stop arm.

10. A combination of the character specified in claim 8 wherein the connector is a spring-pressed plunger having a one-way engagement with the trip arm and having a gear-like connection with the stop arm.

11. A combination of the character specified in claim 8 wherein the connector is a spring-pressed plunger having a gear-like connection with the stop arm permitting the plunger to move to a stop-arm-blocking position when the stop arm is fully protracted.

12. A combination of the character specified in claim 8 wherein the connector is a spring-pressed plunger having a one-way engagement with the trip arm and having a gear-like connection with the stop arm permitting the plunger to move to a stop-arm-blocking position when the stop arm is fully protracted.

13. A door-coordinator comprising a casing, a stop-arm pivoted in the casing and protractible and retractible relative thereto, a separate triparm pivoted in the casing and protractible and retractible relative thereto, and a spring-pressed plunger geared to the stop arm and to the trip arm.

14. A door-coordinator comprising a casing, a stop-arm pivoted in the casing and protractible and retractible relative thereto, a separate triparm pivoted in the casing and protractible and retractible relative thereto, and a spring-pressed plunger geared to the stop arm and to the trip arm, the connection between the plunger and stop arm being such as to block the fully protracted stop arm from retraction until the trip arm has been partially retracted.

15. A door-coordinator comprising a casing, a stop-arm pivoted in the casing and protractible and retractible relative thereto, a separate triparm pivoted in the casing and protractible and retractible relative thereto, and a spring-pressed plunger geared to the stop arm and to the trip arm, the connection between the plunger and stop arm comprising a lost-motion arm-blocking means whereby the fully extended stop-arm is blocked against closing movement until the triparm is partially retracted.

HOMER A. EICHACKER. 

